Ruddigore by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan You are here: Archive Home > Ruddigore 1887 Publicity Drawing "Ruddigore, or The Witch's Curse" was the 10th collaboration between Gilbert and Sullivan. The "supernatural opera" opened on January 21, 1887 at the Savoy Theatre and ran for 288 performances. It was not revived until 1920 when it was substantially cut and provided with a new overture arranged by Geoffrey Toye. The opera is a parody of the stock melodrama — the villain who carries off the maiden; the priggishly good-mannered poor-but-virtuous-heroine; the hero in disguise, and his faithful old retainer who dreams of their former glory days; the snake in the grass who claims to be following his heart; the wild, mad girl; the swagger of fire-eating patriotism; ghosts coming to life to enforce a curse; and so forth. But as one critic noted, Gilbert turns the moral absolutes of melodrama upside down: Good becomes bad, bad becomes good, and heroes take the easy way out. The Baronets of Ruddigore are cursed.

Anyone who succeeds to the title has to commit a crime every day — or perish in inconceivable agony. Robin Oakapple, a young farmer loves Rose Maybud, but both are too shy to tell the other. But Robin has a secret. He is really Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd, the rightful Baronet of Ruddigore, in disguise. His younger brother, Despard, believing Ruthven to be dead, has assumed the title. Robin's foster brother, Richard, seeking Rose for himself, tells Despard of Robin's deception, and Robin is forced to accept his true position, losing Rose to Richard in the process. Now the Baronet of Ruddigore, Robin is confronted by the he ghosts of his ancestors who step from their picture frames in the gallery of Ruddigore Castle to confront him for failing to conscientiously commit his daily crime. Robin eventually finds a way of satisfying his ancestors demands whilst continuing to live a blameless life... All the Music 1950 D'Oyly Carte Decca recording [at the Internet Archive] Download a Vocal Score: We have a vocal score available for downloading.

It is based on the vocal score issued during Sullivan's lifetime and so does not incorporate the changes made by Geoffrey Toye for Rupert D'Oyly Carte's 1921 production. It also differs from the Vocal Score published by Oxford University Press in some details. There are two PDF Files: Act 1 [2.03MB] and Act 2 [1.14MB]. Internet Archive: A copy of the Vocal Score published by Chappell in the early 20th century (before Toye's "revision") can be downloaded in a variety of formats. IMSLP has band parts for the score as "revised" by Geoffrey Toye. Original Finale : Vocal Score, Full Score and Band Parts in PDF format contributed by Larry Byler . Dance Arrangements MUGSS: Ruddigore Ruddigore Sir Roderick Murgatroyd (Act II) B Zorah MS Previous casts: 1973:17M/28W. 1979:21M/26W.

1989:42W/26M 1996:35W/23M 2005:33W/30M Choruses: Act 1: 1W/2W/5W/6W/12/15F Settings: Act One: Cornish fishing village of Rederring. Act Two: Picture gallery at 'Ruddygore castle'. Two sets, two costumes for men only. The story opens in the Cornish fishing village of Rederring, outside the cottage of one Rose Maybud, our heroine. The girls chorus are bemoaning that they are the only professional corps of bridesmaids in the world, and their services have not been required for the last 6 months, and it's time Rose got married. The ageing Dame Hannah appears, and in desperation, they even appeal to her to get married. She refuses, and sets the plot for the whole show: The first baronet, some twenty generations ago, was a cruel person who enjoyed persecuting witches, ducking them in the lake, and also burning them at the stake.

One day before she died, a hag cursed him, saying 'from this day forth, you must do a crime every day, else you die in agony'. This holds true for Sir Despard, the current incumbent, even now. Enter Robin Oakapple, our hero, who fancies Rose (as she does him), but they are both too shy. They sing a song to this effect. Then comes Old Adam, Robin's manservant, who calls him Sir Ruthven (pronounced 'Riven') Murgatroyd, thus telling us, (the audience) that Robin is the rightful baronet. Robin begs him not to, since nobody else knows. He is incognito, hiding amongst the yokels, masquerading as a simple farmer. Consequently his brother, Sir Despard, has taken his place.... At this point, Richard Dauntless, a sailor, who is Robin's best friend arrives, and as Robin is shy, he asks if Richard will plead his suit with Rose for him. Richard knows about Robin's antecedents. Consequently, Rose falls for Richard. Now, enter Mad Margaret who admits to being in love with Sir Despard. She sings a sad song.

The men's chorus arrives at this point, followed by Sir Despard, from whom everybody shrinks, as he regales us with doing a dastardly crime first thing in the morning, to get it over with, and for the rest of the day does good. Richard Dauntless now drops Robin in it, and tells Sir Despard that he is really Sir Ruthven. Consequently Rose cannot have Robin now, and Sir Despard goes off with Mad Margaret. End of Act one. Act two is set in the picture gallery where there are full-length portraits of the past baronets. Robin (now Sir Ruthven) is the evil baronet. As they exit, on come the girls chorus and Rose and Richard. They are here to ask Sir R's permission to marry, and he reluctantly agrees. They all go, leaving Sir R by himself, and as the stage darkens as the pictures then come to life, and demand to know what he has been doing, and show him the agony he will experience if he does not commit his daily crime. To prove himself, they order that he carry off a lady at once. Old Adam is dispatched to take off said lady.

Enter Sir Despard (now reformed and dressed as a preacher) with Mad Margaret (similarly dressed), and they tell the world how good they both are. Margaret still has a tendency to madness, and they choose the word 'Basingstoke' to remind her to be good. However, Old Adam returns with the lady he has carried off for Sir Ruthven - none other than Dame Hannah. She has a knife to defend her honour and in desperation, Sir R calls upon his immediate ancestor , Sir Roderic, to save him. Sir Roderic and Dame Hannah recognise each other and sing a love duet. The opera is finished by Sir Ruthven pointing out that by refusing to commit his daily crime is tantamount to commiting suicide, and that suicide is itself a crime (or was in those days). Sir Roderic comes alive at this point, and the opera ends happily, everybody getting the right partners. A likely tale, but aren't they all ? A real victorian melodrama, this one. Needs to be taken just over the top - but only just, everything slightly larger than life. More details on the cast Robin Oakapple Baritone. He is the hero of the opera, as it were.

A light baritone would suffice, and a certain amount of acting ability - he is 'modest, diffident and shy'. He is paired off with Rose Maybud (qv) at the end of the opera. He has a difficult scene in Act two, when, calling down his ancestors, he reacts to their insisting on the daily crime. Richard Dauntless Tenor. Appears halfway through Act one as the sailor returning from the sea. He HAS to be a tenor, although a highish baritone with tight trousers might do. He is the one who pleads Robin's case with Rose Maybud, and so she fancies him, and also drops Robin in it by revealing him to be Sir Ruthven. Ends up paired with Zorah instead. Sir Despard Murgatroyd B/Baritone. The villain of the opera, at least in Act one. Needs to be played just over the top. Imagine the archetypal Victorian villain (Oh, Sir Jasper....) top hat, black cloak, twirling moustache etc. Arrives late on in Act one (No 13) after the men's chorus, and terrorises the choruses.

Then he can lay about the audience telling them how evil he is. Requires not only a great deal of audience imagination, but also Sir D has to act. Does not HAVE to be a bass/baritone if his acting ability is up to it. As you can see, the men are not on until Act one No12 (with 'Welcome Gentry') so they could be pressed into service as front of house before the show, or setting Act one or whatever, as they would have some 40 minutes after the start of the show to get changed and made up. 'Hisses at a Gilbert and Sullivan opening' was the headline in the Times on January 24th 1887. 'The production of Gilbert and Sullivan's new operetta, Ruddygore, was on Saturday evening accompanied by a phenomenon never before experienced at the Savoy theatre'. Despite the fact that there was a more than sympathetic first night audience, full with the cream of London society, since a G&S premi�re was definitely 'an event', and the composer, author and D'Oyly Carte took several curtain calls, a small but determined minority mingled its hisses at them. There were cries of 'Give us back the Mikado'.

What had happened? The Mikado which preceded it was a tremendous success, (and still is probably the most popular of the whole repertoire) and would have been a hard act to follow - however good the next show was. Mikado ran for nearly 700 performances - which is two years or so. Not quite in 'The Mousetrap' league, but nevertheless very creditable. Do not forget that the London theatre scene had hundreds of small theatres, with countless musicals and plays. How many of these have survived for a century or more? Andrew Lloyd Webber eat your heart out. The trouble with Ruddygore was, first of all the title. The Victorians thought this a trifle strong (what would Mary Whitehouse make of it?) To Gilbert, 'Ruddy' was merely a synonym for blood coloured, nothing more. He is quoted as saying, when tackled on the subject 'I suppose if I said I admire your ruddy countenance, it would be the same as saying I like your bloody cheek'. However, he bowed to public pressure and changed the 'y' to 'i', and that is how it has remained since.

The plot of Ruddigore is a straightforward melodrama, complete with an evil Baronet, but Gilbert's treatment of Act two, and the resolution of the story was weak. The idea of all the ghosts coming alive at the end stretched credulity too far.By the end of the first week, the show was tightened considerably, and greatly improved: As well as removing some superfluous dialogue, the music was also changed; the second verses to two songs were cut, as was a complete solo for Robin. The entry of the ghosts had a considerable chunk omitted, as was part of Sir Roderic's first entry. Only one ghost 'Sir Roderic' was allowed to become alive at the end. These changes enabled Ruddigore to have a good run - 288 performances, which is approximately a nine month run - but it was considered a failure. At the time, Gilbert remarked 'I could do with a few more failures like that'.

In the 1920s along came a certain Geoffrey Toye, who rewrote the Overture (in itself, fair enough, since Sullivan didn't write the original - the only ones he personally wrote were Yeomen and Iolanthe), cut out 'The battle's roar is over' in Act one. He also shortened the endings to some songs in Act one and removed odd bars in the Finale Act 1. In Act 2 he removed 'Henceforth all the crimes', (in itself a rewrite from the first week in the original) and also rewrote the finale. His Overture was very average, and the finale even more so. A sort of musical vandal, as it were. We have re-instated the overture and Sullivan's finale (the newer vocal scores have also reverted to this), and also the two songs. Some of the different endings have been retained, but you will appreciate that it is not easy for an orchestra to be playing off one copy and then transfer to a hand-written sheet for the sake of two or three bars....

There is a new recording of this opera by the New Sadler's Wells Opera which has the ghosts original entry and 'For 35 years' (the original for which 'Henceforth all the crimes' was substituted) reinstated, also the endings to some songs in Act one, and odd bars in the finale Act One. The original manuscript for 'Ruddigore' is locked in the safe at the Savoy Theatre in London, as it is still the property of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Trust (all the others except 'Iolanthe' having been sold over 20 years ago) and apart from the MD of Sadler's Wells, nobody seems to be allowed near it. We asked permission, but apart from a curt acknowledgement, nothing. Anyway, enough of this. Sit back and enjoy the show. Plot notes for 1996 show. The story opens in the Cornish fishing village of Rederring, outside the cottage of one Rose Maybud, our heroine. The girls chorus are bemoaning that they are the only professional corps of bridesmaids in the world, and they have been on duty every day from 10 till 4, supported by a charitable fund set up for that very purpose.

Funds are running low, and the situation is becoming more urgent, as their services have not been required for the last 6 months, and it's time Rose got married. The ageing Dame Hannah appears, and in desperation, they even appeal to her to get married. She refuses, and sets the plot for the whole show: The first baronet, some twenty generations ago, was a cruel person who enjoyed persecuting witches, ducking them in the lake, and also burning them at the stake (and even rhyming his dialogue). One day before she died, a hag cursed him, saying 'from this day forth, you must do a crime every day, else you die in agony'. This holds true for Sir Despard, the current incumbent, even now. Enter Robin Oakapple, our hero, who fancies Rose (as she does him), but they are both too shy. They sing a song to this effect. Then comes Old Adam, Robin's manservant, who calls him Sir Ruthven (pronounced 'Riven') Murgatroyd, thus telling us, (the audience) that Robin is the rightful baronet. Robin begs him not to, since nobody else knows.

He is incognito, hiding amongst the yokels, masquerading as a simple farmer. Consequently his brother, Sir Despard, has taken his place.... At this point, Richard Dauntless, a sailor, who is Robin's best friend arrives, and as Robin is shy, he asks if Richard will plead his suit with Rose for him. Richard knows about Robin's antecedents. Consequently, Rose falls for Richard. Now, enter Mad Margaret who admits to being in love with Sir Despard. She sings a sad song. The men's chorus arrives at this point, followed by Sir Despard, from whom everybody shrinks, as he regales us with doing a dastardly crime first thing in the morning, to get it over with, and for the rest of the day does good. Richard Dauntless now drops Robin in it, and tells Sir Despard that he is really Sir Ruthven. Consequently Rose cannot have Robin now, and Sir Despard goes off with Mad Margaret. End of Act one. Act two is set in the picture gallery where there are full-length portraits of the past baronets. Robin (now Sir Ruthven) is the evil baronet.

As they exit, on come the girl's chorus and Rose and Richard. They are here to ask Sir R's permission to marry, and he reluctantly agrees. They all go, leaving Sir R by himself, and as the stage darkens as the pictures then come to life, and demand to know what he has been doing, and show him the agony he will experience if he does not commit his daily crime. To prove himself, they order that he carry off a lady at once. Old Adam is dispatched to take off said lady. Enter Sir Despard (now reformed and dressed as a preacher) with Mad Margaret (similarly dressed), and they tell the world how good they both are. Margaret still has a tendency to madness, and they choose the word 'Basingstoke' to remind her to be good. However, Old Adam returns with the lady he has carried off for Sir Ruthven - none other than Dame Hannah. She has a knife to defend her honour and in desperation, Sir R calls upon his immediate ancestor, Sir Roderic, to save him. Sir Roderic and Dame Hannah recognise each other and sing a love duet.

The opera is finished by Sir Ruthven pointing out that by refusing to commit his daily crime is tantamount to committing suicide and that suicide is itself a crime (or was in those days). Sir Roderic comes alive at this point, as do all his 'brother ancestors', although 'father ancestors' would be more accurate, and so the opera ends happily, everybody getting the right partners. 'Hisses at a Gilbert and Sullivan opening' was the headline in the Times on January 24th 1887. 'The production of Gilbert and Sullivan's new operetta, Ruddygore, was on Saturday evening accompanied by a phenomenon never before experienced at the Savoy theatre'. Despite the fact that there was a more than sympathetic first night audience, full with the cream of London society, since a G&S premi�re was definitely 'an event', and the composer, author and D'Oyly Carte took several curtain calls, a small but determined minority made its presence felt. There were even cries of 'Give us back the Mikado'. What had happened?

The Mikado which had preceded it was a tremendous success, (and is still one of the most popular of the whole repertoire) and would have been a hard act to follow - however good the next show was. Mikado ran for nearly 700 performances - which is two years or so. Not quite in 'The Mousetrap' league, but nevertheless very creditable. Do not forget that the London theatre scene had hundreds of small theatres, with countless musicals and plays, and very few have survived into the twentieth century. The trouble with Ruddygore was, first of all the title. The Victorians thought this a trifle strong, but to Gilbert, 'Ruddy' was merely a synonym for blood coloured, nothing more. He is quoted as saying, when tackled on the subject 'I suppose if I said I admire your ruddy countenance, it would be the same as saying I like your bloody cheek'. However, he bowed to public pressure and changed the 'y' to 'i', and that is how it has remained since.

The plot of Ruddigore is a straightforward melodrama, complete with an evil Baronet, and Act One went very well, but Gilbert's treatment of Act two, and the resolution of the story was weak - with the ghosts coming alive at the end of the second act. By the end of the first week, the show was tightened considerably, and greatly improved: As well as removing some superfluous dialogue, the music was also changed; the second verses to two songs were cut, as was a complete solo for Robin. The entry of the ghosts had a considerable chunk omitted, as was part of Sir Roderic's first entry. Only one ghost 'Sir Roderic' was allowed to become alive at the end. These changes enabled Ruddigore to have a good run - 288 performances, which is approximately a nine-month run. However it was still considered to be a failure. At the time, Gilbert remarked 'I could do with a few more failures like that'.

Ruddigore never had a professional revival, unlike most of the others, until in the 1920s along came a certain Geoffrey Toye, the then conductor of the D'Oyly Carte, who rewrote the Overture (in itself, fair enough, since Sullivan didn't write the original - the only ones he personally wrote were Yeomen and Iolanthe), cut out 'The battle's roar is over' in Act one. He also shortened the endings to some songs in Act one and removed odd bars in the Finale Act 1. In Act 2 he removed 'Henceforth all the crimes', (in itself a rewrite from the first week in the original) and also rewrote the finale. His overture is quite a creditable piece in keeping with Sullivan, but the finale of Act Two was a short rehash of the very end of Act One, and is very average. Perhaps he had by then run out of ideas. In our performances this year, we are doing Geoffrey Toye's overture, but keeping Sullivan's original end to Act Two. I see that the current vocal scores retain Toye's overture, but have reverted to Sullivan's ending.

This caused some confusion at the beginning of this year as the chorus used copies from Central Library, and some were the old ones.... We have also retained the ghosts coming alive at the very end and they get paired off with the various bridesmaids in true Gilbertian fashion. It gives the expression 'old age creeping up on you' a whole new meaning... There is a recording of this opera by the New Sadler's Wells Opera which has the ghosts original entry and 'For 35 years' (the original for which 'Henceforth all the crimes' was substituted) reinstated, also the endings to some songs in Act one, and odd bars in the finale Act One. The original manuscript for 'Ruddigore' is locked in the safe at the Savoy Theatre in London, as it is still the property of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Trust (all the others except 'Iolanthe' having been sold over 30 years ago) and apart from the MD of Sadler's Wells, nobody seems to be allowed near it. I tried to contact the trustees of the Savoy last year when Ruddigore was decoded upon, but have heard nothing.

Perhaps now that Granada has bought Forte - who owned the Savoy - things might change, but I doubt it! 1967 Ruddigore Cartoon Theatrical Trailer - YouTube 1967 Ruddigore Cartoon Theatrical Trailer Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. The interactive transcript could not be loaded. Loading... Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later.

Published on Aug 15, 2012 Cartoon created by Halas and Batchelor Music performed by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company Created 1964-66, released 1967 Sir Despard Murgatroyd - Kenneth Sandford Old Adam - George Cook Mad Margaret - Peggy Ann Jones Dame Hannah - Gillian Knight Sir Roderic Murgatroyd - Donald Adams D'Oyly Carte Opera Chorus Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, James Walker Category Benford's G&S Lexicon Entries for Ruddigore | GSOpera - Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Benford's G&S Lexicon Entries for Ruddigore Primary tabs Click a term to reveal or hide the definition. Use the Search box to find a term. Select other operas in the Chapters menu. Go to the Lexicon menu to read the Preface, Introduction. and other material. Search for Term Enter part of a term; e.g., "gill" for Gillow's. About the Opera Ruddigore Owing perhaps to The Mikado's great success, Sullivan became more amenable to continuing his collaboration with Gilbert.

The Mikado's long run gave the composer time to engage in what he considered his real forte: oratorios and other serious compositions. He also engaged in a good deal of travel and socializing with the upper crust. Gilbert found time to develop a non-lozengian libretto, a parody of old-time blood-and-thunder melodramas, which he titled Ruddygore. Melodramas have been defined as serious plays intended for undiscriminating audiences. In such works conflicts and calamities are more interesting than the characters, who tend to be stereotyped as either good or bad. Much like modern TV shows, one finds in melodramas passion, excitement and action in plenitude, but seldom much in way of motivation (214). The new opera opened at the Savoy on January 22, 1887. Almost anything following The Mikado would suffer by comparison, and Ruddygore most certainly did. Audiences and critics were less than enthusiastic. Gilbert and Sullivan quickly effected some revisions, among which was to change the spelling of the title to Ruddigore -- considered less offensive to genteel English tastes.

The opera then ran for 288 performances, which was not a bad record -- except in contrast to The Mikado's 672. Ruddigore's place in the hearts of Gilbert and Sullivan devotees is akin to Princess Ida's. Although the opera is among the less well known, it bears repetition and will seemingly always be popular among more experienced Savoyards. CHARACTERS AND SETTING Gilbert gives the time as “Early in the nineteenth century.” For reasons to be explained later we can infer that the time should have been no later than 1805. Ruthven [Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd]: This is an old Scottish family name that should be pronounced “Rivven,” except as noted at the start of the second act. The name has dark overtones. In 1566 William, fourth baron Ruthven, was involved in the murder of David Rizzio, Mary, Queen of Scots’s secretary and suspected lover. Worse yet, in 1600 the Earl of Gowrie, whose family name was Ruthven, kidnapped James VI of Scotland.

In retribution, the Scottish Parliament passed an act stating “that the surname of Ruthven sall now and in all tyme cumming be extinguischit and aboleissit for euir.” The law was subsequently relaxed for one branch of the clan. For further details see “Gowrie Conspiracy” in The Encyclopædia Britannica (103). Ruthven was also the name of the vampire in Polidori’s novel The Vampyre (1819) and two derivatives: Planché and Nodier’s play The Vampire (1820), and Marschner’s opera Der Vampyr (1828). Gilbert used that same name for the villain in one of his own early plays: A Sensation Novel (277). Characters Oakapple An oak apple is a gall or swelling on oak leaves. May 29 is designated as Oak Apple Day in England, celebrating the Restoration (1660), that being the birthday of Charles II, who, after losing the Battle of Worcester, hid from Cromwell's Roundheads in an oak tree (140). That happens also to be the date of Gilbert's death (in 1911).

Ruddigore, Characters: 2552 Sir Despard Murgatroyd There are those who note that nearly all the characters in this opus have names of particular interest. What about Despard? Conceivably, Gilbert could have had in mind Edward Despard (1751-1803), a renegade British Army officer who was hanged for conspiracy against the Crown. On the other hand, it seems more likely that Gilbert simply thought the name resonated with visions of desperately despicably dastardly deeds. Ruddigore, Characters: 2553 Baronet The title means in effect a "little baron" (17, 43, 165, 229, 266). Quoting J.C.G. George Esq. FSA (Scot), Garioch Pursuivant of Arms (123): "In the United Kingdom a baronet ranks above a knight and below a baron. Unlike a knight his title is hereditary but although he is of the nobility he has no seat in the House of Lords.

The rank was officially instituted in 1611 when … thirteen knights and five esquires were created Baronets." Some students of the Savoy operas have noted that Sir Roderic Murgatroyd was the 21st Baronet of Ruddigore. That made Robin the 22nd and Sir Despard the 23rd. Since the time frame from first to last baronet could not have exceeded 194 years (i.e., 1611, when the rank was established, until 1805), the average incumbency works out to be less than a decade. That seems unrealistically short to some persnickety critics. George (123) defends Gilbert. He observes that there were 22 Popes during the period 1605-1830, much like the period in question. He adds, "Nor is it a question of generations.

Brothers and/or cousins of the same generation can, and not infrequently do, succeed to titles held by senior members of the same generation." To this I can add the further observation that the travails of the Murgatroyd Baronetcy were enough to drive any man to an early grave -- or to an escape like that of Robin's. If you are willing to believe that ancestors can step out of picture frames, you can easily believe there were 23 baronets in 200 years. Ruddigore, Characters: 2554 Adam [Old Adam Goodheart] Brewer (26A) and Bradley (47) believe the name and character are modeled on Adam, the faithful old servant in Shakespeare's As You Like It. The expression "Old Adam" is sometimes taken as a theologian's figure of speech denoting man in his unredeemed state (52, 250). There is little evidence, however, to suggest that Gilbert meant Robin's elderly servant to be anything but a mellow old man who had difficulty in switching character for the changed conditions of the second act.

Ruddigore, Characters: 2555 Mad Margaret Perhaps the name Margaret comes from Faust's innocent prey, Marguerite, who goes mad from the guilt of bearing and murdering Faust's illegitimate offspring. As traditionally portrayed in the Savoy opera, however, she is a parody of such madwomen as Ophelia and Lucia di Lammermoor. Munich (220) proposes that Margaret's nickname (Mad Meg) may have been inspired by Bruegel's "terrifying" painting Dulle Griet (meaning Mad Meg), which shows "a huge figure of a sword and skillet-wielding housewife [who] seeking mastery breaks through the boundaries of the kitchen. Even in hell she is a menace. Mad Meg may be understood as archetypal of all women … who defy propriety." Ruddigore, Characters: 2556 Dame [Dame Hannah] Here is a term with many implications. It might be applied to a noble lady or simply the mistress of a respectable household. Our Hannah was probably addressed as "Dame" simply because she was a well-liked and well- regarded middle-aged woman.

Gilbert identifies her parenthetically as Rose's aunt; but if Rose was what she claimed to be, namely a foundling, Hannah must be her aunt by adoption. Classical Net Review - Gilbert & Sullivan - The Gondoliers, Ruddigore, The Mikado, The Yeomen of the Guard D'Oyly Carte Opera Company/Isidore Godfrey Pearl GEMS 0134 ADD monaural 3CDs 50:44, 67:07, 52:11 The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company stayed out of the recording studios during World War Two. By the time the war was over, their most recent recordings of Gilbert and Sullivan's operettas were not very recent at all. Furthermore, the writing was on the wall for the 78-rpm record, and Decca saw the artistic and commercial value of having the D'Oyly Cartes – who had premièred G and S's operettas in the previous century – record them for the new medium. A new series of recordings was begun in 1950, and it continued until the middle of that decade.

Once this series was completed, new technological improvements were on the horizon, and the D'Oyly Cartes began a new series of G and S recordings in stereo, starting with The Mikado in 1957. The stereo recordings were the first to be reissued on CD, and the pre-World War Two recordings – fondly remembered for the singing of George Baker, among others – were the next. The 1950s recordings have been in limbo: boasting neither modern sound nor superlative sentimental value, they have not appeared on CD until recently. Pearl has taken up the cause, and these two sets join Pearl GEMS0097 (Trial by Jury and Pirates of Penzance) and GEMS0096 (H.M.S. Pinafore) in preserving artifacts from this era in D'Oyly Carte history. For many collectors, the reason for collecting these sets can be expressed in a single name: Martyn Green. Green was his era's master of the roles previously sung by George Baker, and later sung by John Reed.

Green's warm baritone voice qualified him to be singer first and an actor second, but, because of his dramatic talents, he managed to give these roles equal priorities. He always created sympathy for his characters, even the curmudgeonly King Gama from Princess Ida, and he understood how effective it was to create a serious moment in an evening of humor – for example, in "On a tree by a willow" from The Mikado. One almost takes his implied suicide threat at face value – as did his Katisha, apparently! His diction, even in the most demanding patter songs, was wonderful. He is the best reason to hear these recordings, even though they are more than a half-century old now. These four recordings date from 1950. Apparently it was not unusual at this time to record an entire operetta in a single day, and the results, understandably, were sometimes less than ideally polished. The Gondoliers was recorded on March 11. The D'Oyly Cartes had not recorded The Gondoliers since 1927, a superb recording which remains available on Pearl, and in Jim Lockwood's 78s 2 CD series.

(There are no overlaps between the 1927 and 1950 casts.) Although the1950 Gondoliers, as with the other three recordings, often sounds like a seat-of-the-pants, "no retakes, please" affair, it has many strengths, not least Godfrey's alert conducting. Green is in top form as the Duke, and Alan Styler's warm baritone makes him an attractive Giuseppe, but he was unlucky to draw the hollow-toned Yvonne Dean as Tessa. (Dean may have been an understudy for another singer, because she doesn't appear in a starring role on any other recording.) Muriel Harding sings Gianetta's solos, including "Kind sir, you cannot have the heart," with edgy charm. Margaret Mitchell's Casilda and Richard Watson's Don Alhambra are dependable, as is Ella Hallman's Duchess – not her finest role on records. Leonard Osborn strains and is graceless as Marco. He is a consistent liability in this series of recordings.

(I understand that he was easier on the eyes than on the ears.) Henry Goodier, like Dean, is an unfamiliar name, but he is rather more successful with Luiz, and he is the baritone that Sullivan requested. (For some reason, this role is often given to a tenor.) Pearl maintains an idiosyncrasy of the original Decca release by including Stanley Youngman's name (as Annibale) in the cast list. This is a spoken role, and so it doesn't make much sense to include it in a recording that omits the dialogue! Probably staff members at Decca simply copied it from a contemporary D'Oyly Carte cast listing without realizing their error. As for the sound quality, this is a recording that sounds older than its age, thanks to the distortion at climaxes and the pervasive hum. Ruddigore, recorded several months later, is a better piece of engineering than The Gondoliers, but it still falls short of what record companies (including Decca) were capable of at that time.As usual, Godfrey is dependable if not imaginative.

Unfortunately, this recording preserves the cuts that were standard at the time, including all of "The battle's roar is over." This is particularly sad, because the most frequently made comment about this Ruddigore is how good Osborn sounds as Richard Dauntless. Sullivan keeps Dauntless's music in a comfortable range, and Osborn gets to hide some of his shortcomings behind a mask of comedy. Green is a mature Robin, and he sounds happier when he transformed into Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd. It is astonishing to hear him sing his section of the Act Two patter trio in a single breath. Darrell Fancourt, quavery of voice but strong of spirit, sings a memorable "When the night wind howls," and Richard Watson seems to enjoy the comic frights of "Why am I moody and sad?" (If you like Fancourt's Roderic, the 1931 D'Oyly Carte recording is available from 78s 2 CD. Fancourt is the only lead to appear on both the 1931 and 1950 recordings.) Among the women, Mitchell is the best.

Her reading of "If somebody there chanced to be" is rich in charm. Halman's Dame Hannah, like her Gondoliers Duchess, is hampered by unsteadiness and a generic interpretation. Ann Drummond-Grant (Godfrey's wife) is nothing special as Mad Margaret. The Mikado was recorded on March 8. Osborn must have had a cold at the time, because his strangled and out-of-tune rendition of "A wandering minstrel I" is the poorest I've heard on record. (Fortunately, he improves later on.) The other weak link here is the sound quality. Climaxes are overloaded to the point of distortion, several side-joins are poorly managed (Katisha's first entrance is an egregious example), and wow and flutter are recurring problems. On the plus side, Green's Ko-Ko is sung with enormous wit and personality. Still, he turns the tables on Katisha (and on us) by singing the "Tit-Willow" song with almost tragic earnestness. Halman's Katisha is her strongest role on records; she is both fearful and sympathetic.

Fancourt's earlier (1936) recording of the title role is more strongly sung, but not more charismatic. (Green also participated in the 1936 recording.) Although it is not a highly individual interpretation, Mitchell's Yum-Yum is enjoyable, at least when the recording is not distorting her high notes. Styler uses his nasal (but not unpleasant) baritone voice to good effect in "Our great Mikado," and Richard Watson is a rich-voiced and pompous Pooh-Bah. Go-To is split between Radley Flynn and Donald Harris; Pearl gives credit to the former only. The Yeomen of the Guard, the most operatic of Sullivan's scores with Gilbert, and the most serious of Gilbert's librettos, has been lucky on records. The recording preserved here (July 18 was the recording date) is a successful team effort, and noteworthy for Martyn Green's Jack Point, a heartbreaking characterization even in the absence of histrionics. Nevertheless, his comic solos ("I've jibe and joke" and "Oh! A private buffoon") are both memorable and musical.

Osborn, with his typically sluggish sense of rhythm, makes heavy weather of "Is life a boon?" and his portion of "A man who would woo a fair maid." Fancourt does not have to compete against his younger self here, because the previous D'Oyly Carte version (from 1928) assigned Sergeant Meryll to Peter Dawson. Among the women, Halman is the real star; her Dame Carruthers is imposing. Drummond-Grant sounds a little lost as Phoebe (she did not sing this role on stage), and Harding's Elsie Maynard is quavery and a poor match for Green's Jack Point. The engineering shares many of the drawbacks of the earlier three, but at least it is a little more brilliant. The layout of these discs is bizarre. The first act of each opera gets a CD to itself, but the second acts are placed back to back on a separate CD. In other words, if you simply load these disc into your player without programming it first, you'll hear the first opera in the set in its proper order, but then you'll hear the second act of the next opera before you hear the first.

Pearl did this to avoid breaking the acts up between discs. Whether this is an advantage or not I leave up to you. Annotations are by Marc Shepherd, whose excellent G and S discography on the Internet is required reading for anyone who has gotten this far in my review! In short, listeners who are new to G and S should choose stereo recordings, preferably those by the D'Oyly Cartes. These recordings will appeal to collectors who are confirmed G and S fans, particularly to those who want to hear why Martyn Green was such a beloved Savoyard.

Question: The characters Mad Margaret and Robin Oakapple appear in which Gilbert & Sullivan opera?
Answer: Ruddigore